Zakharova Questions if Zaluzhny Was Ever in Ukrainian Armed Forces

The official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, expressed doubt in an interview with RIA Novosti about whether Kyiv remembers the former Chief Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, being part of the Ukrainian military. This statement came in response to remarks made by Oleksii Danilov, the Secretary of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, regarding the absence of Ukrainian prisoners in the downed Russian Il-76 aircraft in the Belgorod region.

“I want to ask, was Zaluzhnyi never in the Ukrainian Armed Forces, or do they still remember that he was?” Zakharova stated.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky dismissed the former Chief Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, General Valerii Zaluzhnyi, on February 8. He appointed the commander of the ground forces, General-Colonel Oleksandr Syrskyi, in his place.